We have previously reported on the solvent versatility of immobilized amylose and cellulose-based chiral stationary phases in enantioselective liquid chromatographic separation of racemates. The studies were mainly focusing on the tris substituted 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases namely CHIRALPAK IA® [Amylose tris (3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)] or ADMPC and CHIRALPAK IB® [Cellulose tris (3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)] or CDMPC. Here we focus on the application of the recently introduced amylose tris (3-chloro-5-methylphenylcarbamate) or ACMPC and brand name CHIRALPAK IG® with a chlorine substituent replacing the methyl group in CHIRALPAK IA®...

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) are a common problem in clinical practice during drug treatments. DDIs can induce development of adverse drug reactions or reduce clinical efficacy of the drugs. In this review, using PubMed, Embase and Cochrane library we searched articles published until January 10, 2017, and described both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic DDIs in cocaine consumers, focusing the interest on their clinical implications. In this review, the nodal points treated focused on: i) cocaine biochemical metabolism described for both, inactive benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl esters and norcocaine active metabolites...

Methamphetamine (METH) is a drug with a high addictive potential that is widely abused across the world. While it is known that METH dysregulates both dopamine transmission and dopamine reuptake, the specific mechanism of action remains obscure. One promising target of METH is the sigma receptor, a chaperone protein located on the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. Using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, we show that METH-enhancement of evoked dopamine release and basal efflux is dependent on sigma receptor activation...

AIM: To study clinical and genetic characteristics that impact on the efficacy of pharmacotherapy of depressive disorders. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 188 patients with unipolar depressive disorders of different genesis (psychogenic, endogenous and organic). A clinical-psychopathological method and depression psychometric scales were used. Serotonin transporter 5-HTTLPR and STin2 and dopamine transporter 3',-VNTR polymorphisms were determined. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The S-allele of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is associated with the low efficacy of treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors...

Tricyclic antidepressants and serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors are used to treat chronic pain, such as neuropathic pain. Why antidepressants are effective for treatment of neuropathic pain and the precise mechanisms underlying their effects, however, remain unclear. The inhibitory effects of these antidepressants for neuropathic pain manifest more quickly than their antidepressive effects, suggesting different modes of action. Recent studies of animal models of neuropathic pain revealed that noradrenaline is extremely important for the inhibition of neuropathic pain...

Previous studies have demonstrated a role for norepinephrine (NE) in energy regulation and feeding, and basal differences have been observed in hypothalamic NE systems in obesity-prone vs. obesity-resistant rats. Differences in the function of brain reward circuits, including in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), have been shown in obesity-prone vs. obesity-resistant populations, leading many researchers to explore the role of striatal dopamine in obesity. However, alterations in NE transmission also affect NAc mediated behaviors...

Vortioxetine is a multimodal drug that blocks serotonin (5-HT) reuptake and directly modulates 5-HT receptors. The effects of subacute and long-term administration of vortioxetine on various aspects of catecholamine and glutamate systems were investigated using single-unit extracellular recordings and microiontophoresis in the rat brain. The firing rate of dopamine (DA) neurons was significantly decreased (26%) after 14, but not 4 days of vortioxetine administration (vortioxetine-containing chow, 1.8 g/kg vortioxetine)...

Several severe stressful situations, e.g., natural disaster, infectious disease out break, and mass casualty, are known to cause anxiety, depression and cognitive impairment, and preventive intervention for these stress complications is worth exploring. We have previously reported that the serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor, venlafaxine, as well as voluntary wheel running are effective in the treatment of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in stressed rats. But whether they are able to prevent deleterious consequences of restraint stress in rats, such as anxiety/depression-like behaviors and memory impairment that occur afterward, was not known...

The use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) is increasing and currently >600 NPS have been reported. However, limited information on neuropharmacological and toxicological effects of NPS is available, hampering risk characterization. We reviewed the literature on the in vitro neuronal modes of action to obtain effect fingerprints of different classes of illicit drugs and NPS. The most frequently reported NPS were selected for review: cathinones (MDPV, α-PVP, mephedrone, 4-MEC, pentedrone, methylone), cannabinoids (JWH-018), (hallucinogenic) phenethylamines (4-fluoroamphetamine, benzofurans (5-APB, 6-APB), 2C-B, NBOMes (25B-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, 25I-NBOMe)), arylcyclohexylamines (methoxetamine) and piperazine derivatives (mCCP, TFMPP, BZP)...

Fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) is an established method for measuring dopamine (DA) levels in the brain in real time. However, it is difficult to discriminate DA from other monoamines such as serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE). We report a novel DA-specific biosensor consisting of a carbon-fiber electrode coated with an ion-exchange membrane, a layer containing monoamine oxidase B, and a cellulose membrane. We performed FSCV using the probe to monitor the amount of DA in vitro and in vivo...

Brain serotonin and dopamine are neurotransmitters related to fatigue, a feeling that leads to reduced intensity or interruption of physical exercises, thereby regulating performance. The present review aims to present advances on the understanding of fatigue, which has recently been proposed as a defense mechanism instead of a "physiological failure" in the context of prolonged (aerobic) exercises. We also present recent advances on the association between serotonin, dopamine and fatigue. Experiments with rodents, which allow direct manipulation of brain serotonin and dopamine during exercise, clearly indicate that increased serotoninergic activity reduces performance, while increased dopaminergic activity is associated with increased performance...

Venlafaxine, a novel third generation antidepressant drug, has been described as a reference treatment for major depression in clinical, owing to its ability of inhibiting both noradrenalin and serotonin neuronal reuptake, and inhibiting dopamine reuptake slightly. However, its clinical application is hampered by a limited brain distribution. Glucosylation is an effective way to enhance the brain targeting ability of drugs, but the bidirectional transport of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1 ) might decrease the concentrations of venlafaxine-glucose (V-G) in brain before the release of parent drug venlafaxine...

Nicotine dependence has progressively become a foremost community health interest in the both developed and developing nations due to the economic burden and health-related problem. Smoking was significantly higher among patients with schizophrenia in comparison to the general population. Nicotine dependence is not only associated with public stress, but among patients with schizophrenia, smoking brings major challenges to the management. Nicotine may diminish the therapeutic efficacy of the bioavailability of the psychopharmacological agents in-vivo...

Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) regulates long-term synaptic plasticity, learning and memory by controlling dendritic protein synthesis. The mTOR inhibitor rapamycin has been shown to attenuate the behavioral effects of drugs of abuse, including cocaine. Using viral vectors to selectively delete mTOR in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in adult male mTOR(loxP/loxP) mice, we investigated the role of mTOR in regulating neuronal morphology, basal synaptic transmission, dopamine dynamics and cocaine-induced synaptic plasticity and rewarding effects...

The serotonin (5-HT) hypothesis of depression has played an important role in the history of psychiatry, yet it has also been criticized for the delayed onset and inadequate efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). With evolvement of neuroscience, the neuroplasticity hypothesis of major depressive disorder (MDD) has been proposed and may provide a better framework for clarification the pathogenesis of MDD and antidepressant efficacy. In this article, we first summarized the evidence challenging the monoamine hypothesis and proposed that the antidepressant efficacy of SSRIs is not derived from elevated monoamine (5-HT, noradrenaline (NE), or dopamine (DA)) concentration or monoamine neurotransmission...